Before you begin planning for your next cruise, you should consider some of these lesser known tips and advice. 1. Travel Insurance - So many people are focused on getting the best deal on cruise prices. However, you should budget for your travel insurance up front. When it comes to your safe guarding yourself from problems like trip cancellation, sickness/injuries and more. You should make it a priority before looking for the lowest rate on the trip itself. You can look online with respected companies like TravelGuard and Insuremytrip.com.
2. Foreign Currency - It's true that many countries may accept US Dollars but, when traveling abroad it may be worth checking the foreign currency rate of the places you will be visiting during your trip. So many cruisers make shopping a big part of their trip, why not know that you'll get a better deal on that leather purse in Greece compared to Italy.
3. Time Your Sailing - The time of year you book your cruise can have a big impact on your cruise fare. The same cabin on the same ship in the Caribbean may be almost double, if you book it in July compared to November. In the Caribbean my rule is if the kids are out of School the rates are HIGH and some of the best months with the lowest rates are Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan (Non-Holiday Sailings).
4. Go A Day Early - Many travelers try to do too much in one day. Flying in and jumping on a ship all in one day. This is not a good plan especially with cruising where a ship may be sailing as early as 4pm. So try to always plan on arriving at your cruise port the day or night before you sail. It is all too common for a flight to be delayed or be held up in traffic because you or someone else has a flat tire. The bonus is your vacation will start a day early and you don't have to worry about your ship leaving without you. Further, you may be able to be one of the first to board the ship at around 11:30am if your first in line. Look into nearby hotels who may have a free shuttle to and from the port along with free parking. So for the price of what you would have normally paid in parking at the port, you got a night stay with parking and cab fare included. Not bad right?
5. Pack Smart - If you can take sometime to plan your packing and not overpack. Not only will your back thank you, but you can also save money and time. You can save money by not having to pay extra or overweight bags. You could save to time by being allowed to be the first off the ship by walking off the ship with your bags in hand (early departure). Many cruise lines are offering early departure if you can simply walk off with all of your bags with you.
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